Articles for making and supporting a kneepad inside a trouser leg

ABSTRACT

A kneepad pocket is created inside the front of a trouser leg knee by making a cutout in the front of the trouser leg above the knee cap and associating an article ( 10 ) with the cutout in a way that creates the pocket. A first part has a fabric piece that forms a perimeter margin surrounding a closeable opening which has a long dimension transverse to the length of the trouser leg and through which a kneepad can be inserted into the pocket. The first part is fit to the cutout in the front of the trouser leg with the fabric piece being attached to the trouser leg. A second part is disposed inside the trouser leg and attached to the trouser leg to form top, bottom, and sides of the pocket. A third part has opposite margins that are transverse to the length of the trouser leg, one of which is attached to the fabric piece of the first part above the closeable opening and the other of which is attached to the second part below the top of the pocket. Other embodiments provide for suspension of the knee pad by a strap. The suspension allows the height of the kneepad along a trouser leg to be adjusted and the kneepad to be disconnected.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION AND PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation-in-part, and claims the priority, ofapplication Ser. No. 11/977,484, filed on 25 Oct. 2007 now abandoned,the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to articles for making a kneepad pocket and forsupporting a kneepad inside a trouser leg.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Knee protection is important to people who for whatever reason need tokneel on any fairly hard surface. It is especially important totradespeople who often must kneel on particularly hard surfaces likebrick, concrete, etc. while performing their jobs.

One type of knee protection device is held in covering relation to theanterior of the knee by adjustable and/or elastic straps that girdle theleg both above and below the knee. The straps are tightened to somedegree around the leg and that may cause some discomfort to the wearerdue to constriction of the leg. When worn around a trouser leg, thestraps also bunch the trouser material while constricting the leg. Sucha knee protection device may be constructed to have a hard outer shellwith a softer, cushioned pad lining the inside. When the person wearingsuch a device stands and ambulates after kneeling, the presence of thedevice is often noticeable.

An alternate arrangement for knee protection comprises a kneepaddisposed in a pocket on the outside of a trouser leg knee. Such a pocketcan be sewn onto a new or a used pair of trousers.

The environment in which a person uses knee protection may be one inwhich debris accumulates on the kneeling surface. A pocket that is notfully closed, or another type of device that is somewhat open, mayprovide an opportunity for such debris to find its way into the pocket,or between the knee and the protection device, and that is undesirablebecause intrusion of harder pieces of debris behind the pad or protectorwill be felt by the wearer, often painfully. In any event, the intrusionof debris, dust, and the like dirty a pocket and pad, and the padeventually requires removal.

Examples of various knee protection arrangements for use with trousersappear in various patents. Many are poorly suited for use in anenvironment that contains debris. Many are not especially comfortable towear. None of those patents that the inventor has seen show or suggestthe inventive article that is being disclosed here for enabling atrouser leg to be provided with a kneepad in a novel way.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One general aspect of the invention relates to a trouser leg asdescribed in claims 1, 9, and 11.

The article comprises first, second, and third parts. The first partcomprises a closeable opening having a long dimension transverse to thelength of the trouser leg and a first fabric piece providing a perimetermargin surrounding the closeable opening. The second part comprises asecond fabric piece that is large enough to cooperate with the trouserleg to form a majority of the pocket when its perimeter margin isdisposed against the inside of the trouser leg and attached to thetrouser leg. The third part comprises a third fabric piece having amarginal portion that is transverse to the length of the trouser legattached to a portion of the second fabric piece at a location below atop margin of the second piece and an opposite marginal portion attachedto a marginal portion of the first fabric piece that is above thecloseable opening.

Another general aspect of the invention relates to an article asdescribed in claim 12.

The second part is disposed inside the trouser leg and attached to thetrouser leg to form top, bottom, and sides of the pocket. The third partcomprises opposite margins that are transverse to the length of thetrouser leg. One margin is attached to the fabric piece of the firstpart above the closeable opening and the other is attached to the secondpart below the top of the pocket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of articlefor creating a pocket in accordance with principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a front plan view of one part of the article of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front plan view of another part of the article that has beencreated by attaching two of the parts of FIG. 1 together.

FIG. 4 is a front plan view of still another part of the article of FIG.1.

FIG. 5 is a front plan view showing the parts of FIGS. 2, 3, and 4attached to form the article.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of the article of FIG. 1, with one ofthe parts being flexed.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a pair of trousers with cutouts made justabove the knee for installing the pocket-creating articles in thetrouser legs.

FIG. 8 is a partial side view of a person wearing the trousers to showhow they are marked so that the cutouts will be in proper locations.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of an accessory that can be used for preparing atrouser leg.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the trousers after the articles havebeen installed.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of thearticle.

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 6 of the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view in circle 13 of FIG. 6 illustrating moredetail.

FIG. 14 is view similar to FIGS. 6 and 12 showing a third embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 10 showing a pair oftrousers with which the embodiment of FIG. 14 is used.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged plan view showing two parts of a connector usedin some embodiments.

FIG. 17 is a side view of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of a part used in FIG. 20.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of a part used in FIG. 21.

FIG. 20 is a side view showing another embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a side view showing still another embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a front plan view of another embodiment of a kneepad.

FIG. 23 is a front plan view of a kneepad using the part of FIG. 18 andthe part of FIG. 19.

FIGS. 24-27 are plan views of other kneepads.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1-6 show an article 10 for creating a kneepad-holding pocket onthe inside of a trouser leg. Article 10 comprises parts 12, 14, 16, anda slide fastener 18, such as a zipper, shown in FIG. 1. Parts 12, 14,and 16 comprise fabric pieces cut to the shapes illustrated. Article 10can be fabricated in several sizes, such as a men's size and a women'ssize, for enabling most people to use them.

Part 12 is a fabric piece cut to rectangular shape to form a back piecethat will cooperate with the front of a trouser leg to form the pocket.In an example of a men's size article, piece 12 is 11.75 inches by 8.00inches. The outer perimeter margin of piece 12 is intended to attach tothe inside of a trouser leg (as will be explained) to make the pocketgenerally rectangular in shape with a top, two sides, and a bottom. Forattaching piece 12 to the trouser leg, the outer perimeter margin of theface of piece 12 that is toward the inside of the front of the trouserleg contains an iron-on adhesive strip 13 that is held in place by anysuitable means such as stitching 13A extending along the four sides asshown. Strip 13 may be a single piece of iron-on adhesive material orseveral individual strips of iron-on adhesive material arranged asshown.

Part 14 is a fabric piece which has a rectangular area 14A that is widerthan it is high. Area 14A contains an elongate opening 14B centeredwidthwise in the rectangular area, but somewhat closer to the top thanto the bottom. Piece 14 also has a rectangular flap 14C extending fromthe top of area 14A. The flap is centered along the width of the piece14 but is not as wide as area 14A. Although area 14A and flap 14C arerespective portions of a single cut piece of fabric referred to above aspart 14, they may be considered respectively as a first fabric piece ofarticle 10 and a third fabric piece of article 10 with part 12 beingconsidered as a second part comprising a second fabric piece of article10.

For attaching area 14A to the trouser leg, the face of area 14A that istoward the inside of the front of the trouser leg contains an iron-onadhesive strip 15 that is held in place by any suitable means such asstitching 15A. Strip 15 may be a single piece of iron-on adhesive orseveral individual strips of iron-on adhesive arranged in the patternshown. Strip 15 fully surrounds opening 14B but does not have to fullycover area 14A.

The purpose of flap 14C is to provide for attachment of pieces 12 and 14to each other as shown by FIGS. 5 and 6 where the top margin 14C1 of theflap is shown attached, such as by stitching, centrally of the width ofpiece 12 parallel to and a short distance below the portion of strip 13running along the top margin of piece 12. Attaching the two pieces 12,14 together facilitates subsequent attachment of article 10 to thetrouser leg and assures that piece 12 is properly located to the trouserleg before strip 13 is ironed to the trouser leg.

Fabric piece 16 may be considered a fourth fabric piece which has agenerally rectangular shape that is wider than it is high. The fourcorners are shown rounded, but could be straight along the edges. Piece16 contains an elongate opening 16A that is centered in the piece.

For attaching piece 16 to the trouser leg, the inner face of piece 16that faces toward the outside of the front of the trouser leg containsan iron-on adhesive strip 17 that is held in place by any suitable meanssuch as stitching 17A. Strip 17 may be a single piece of iron-on stripadhesive material or several individual strips arranged in the patternshown. Strip 17 surrounds opening 16A but does not necessarily have tofully cover the area of piece 16. Preferably however, the outerperimeter of strip 17 is congruent with the outer perimeter of piece 16.

Zipper 18 has the usual mechanism 18A and a surrounding fabric margin18B that provides for the zipper to be attached to another piece offabric. Zipper 18 is placed in front of piece 14 so that when mechanism18A is disposed within opening 14B, the fabric margin 18B overlaps themargin of area 14A surrounding opening 14B, and strip 15 is not covered.Margin 18B and the margin of area 14A surrounding opening 14B areattached together, such as by stitching 19, so that collectively area14A (the first fabric piece of article 10) and zipper 18 form what maybe considered as a first part 20 of article 10.

FIG. 5 shows piece 16 disposed over the front of piece 14 with zippermechanism 18A centered within opening 16A. Parts 14 and 16 are attachedto each other by stitching 21 around the margin surrounding opening 16Aso as to leave a crevice 23 between the outer margin of piece 16 thatcontains strip 17 and outer margin of area 14A that contains strip 15.Crevice 23 extends around the entire margin surrounding stitching 21.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the finished article 10. In FIG. 5, piece 14 isessentially flat against piece 12. It can be seen that area 14A is widerthan piece 16. In FIG. 6, flap 14C is not flat against piece 12, but isflexed to show zipper 18 moved to a position that is spaced forwardly(to the right in the drawing) of piece 12 but still connected to piece12 by flap 14C. When piece 14 is disposed flat against piece 12, theentire article 10 is generally flat and suitable for packaging and salein that condition.

Next, how article 10 is used to create a kneepad pocket will bedescribed.

FIG. 7 shows a pair of trousers 40 containing markings 41 just above theknees that are used for making cutouts 42 shown in broken lines. Properlocations in the trouser legs for the cutouts are made by a personputting on the trousers and squatting down as shown in FIG. 8. With ataylor's chalk, or other suitable marker, the person makes the markings41 by drawing a line across the width of each trouser leg about one inchabove the top of each knee cap.

After the lines have been marked, the trousers are then removed and laidout on a flat surface. A tracing pad, or template, 50 shown in FIG. 7 tothe outside of each trouser leg and on a larger scale in FIG. 9, is aflat piece of material, such as plastic, that has an elongate opening 52running widthwise. The outer perimeter edge of the tracing padcorresponds to the shape of material to be cut out of each trouser legto make a cutout 42.

Opening 52 is placed on a marking 41, and the cutout is traced on thetrouser leg by using taylor's chalk to trace around the outer perimeteredge of the tracing pad. Opening 52 is generally centered widthwise ofthe trouser leg. If the line 41 that was marked while the person waskneeling is not generally parallel with the width of the trouser leg,the tracing pad can be turned as required so that opening 52 is betteraligned with the trouser leg width before tracing. The trouser legs arethen cut around the tracings to remove elongate pieces of material thatleave the cutouts 42. Care should be taken to cut through only the frontof each trouser leg. A typical size for a cutout is 4.75 inches by 0.5inches.

After a cutout has been made, the article 10 is then associated with thefront of a trouser leg so that the margin of the cutout 42 lodges in thecrevice 23, as shown by FIG. 13, with pieces 12 and 14 being disposed onthe inside of the trouser leg and piece 16 is on the outside. Piece 16is positioned so that the length of zipper 18 is substantially true withthe elongate cutout and so that the margin of piece 16 is substantiallyflat against the margin of the cutout. In that position, piece 16 istemporarily pinned to the front of the trouser leg at locations such asthose indicated at 64 in FIG. 5.

The trouser leg is turned inside out and placed on a flat surface. Piece12 is folded about flap 14C out of the way so that the margin of area14A that contains the iron-on strip 15 is uncovered. The sides of thatmargin are then ironed to cause the underlying portions of strip 15 toadhere to the inside of the trouser leg. Because those sides are beyondthe sides of piece 16, care in ironing them will avoid also melting theside portions of strip 17 and hence avoid adhering part 16 to the frontof the trouser leg at this time. The longer portions of strip 15 thatrun across the top and bottom margins remain unironed at this time.

Piece 12 is then folded back flat against the inside of the trouser legand its margin is ironed to cause strip 13 to adhere the margin of piece12 to the trouser leg thereby forming the pocket.

Next the trouser leg is turned right side out and the back of the leg isplaced against an underlying surface so that piece 16 is facing up. Themargin of piece 16 is unpinned and then ironed to cause strip 17 toadhere the piece to the trouser leg. The trouser leg can be then onceagain be turned inside out and the ironing of piece 14 to the trouserleg completed.

A complete pocket P has now been created inside one leg with a zipperedopening in the front of the leg. The process is repeated for the otherleg. With each zipper open, a respective pad (not shown) of suitablematerial can be inserted through it from the front of the trouser leginto the respective pocket. The zippers are then zipped shut. FIG. 10shows the completed installations in the two trouser legs.

The second embodiment of article 10 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 is like thefirst in that the top margin of flap 14C is stitched to piece 12 in thesame way that the top margin 14C1 of flap 14C is in FIGS. 5 and 6. It ishowever different in that flap 14C is a separate cut piece of fabricthat is stitched to a separate cut piece 14 that in the secondembodiment may be considered equivalent to area 14A of the firstembodiment. Flap 14C can have the same or different width as in thefirst embodiment.

The second embodiment differs in that piece 16 is not used. Zipper 18 isstitched to piece 14, being placed either in front of or behind piece14, preferably the latter, so that zipper mechanism 18A is inregistration with opening 14B.

The bottom widthwise margin of flap 14C is stitched to fabric of thestitched-together fabric margin 18B of zipper 18 and piece 14 at alocation just above zipper mechanism 18A and below the portion of theiron-on strip 15 that runs along the top margin of piece 14.

A further difference is that strip 15 is on the face of piece 14 that istoward piece 12 because piece 14 will be on the outside of the front ofthe trouser leg. Consequently the zipper is in effect attached only tothe outside of the front of the trouser leg whereas in the firstembodiment it is in effect attached both to the outside and the inside.

Because flap 14C of the second embodiment is attached along its topmargin to piece 12 and along its bottom margin to fabric to which thezipper is stitched, correct placement of the zipper in the trouser legcutout assures that the piece 12 will be properly located to create thekneepad pocket in the proper location.

The second embodiment is installed by pinning piece 14 in properlocation, placing piece 12 flat against the inside of the trouser leg,ironing piece 12 to the inside of the trouser leg, and ironing piece 14to the outside.

When a kneepad of suitable size is placed in a pocket created by anyembodiment of the inventive article, the fabric of the trousers andarticle allow the interior of the pocket to conform to the thickness ofthe kneepad.

The use of a zipper enables the pocket to be closed to dust and debriswhen the trousers are used. It also enables the kneepad to beconveniently inserted into and removed from the pocket. The flexibilityof the fabric of the article combined with flexibility of the trouserfabric allow for some length, width, and thickness of the kneepad, andthat capability is useful in providing for the use of different densitypad material, some of which is thicker and some of which is thinner.Such choice of pad material may be important to a particular person.

The article 10 shown in FIG. 14 has components like those of theembodiment shown in FIG. 12, but not all of them are shown. Part 12 islonger so that when the article is installed in a pair of trousers, asin FIG. 15, the kneepad pockets P that are created extend further downthe trouser leg than in FIG. 10. The article shown in FIG. 14 alsoincludes a tether 70 for suspending a kneepad 72 within a pocket P.Tether 70 can be a long band or strap that is fastened at its upper endin any suitable way to the article. When kneepad 72 is suspended, itsweight, although not large, is enough to pull on the tether so that thekneepad is suspended at a desired depth inside the pocket.

Rather than depending upon the bottom of the pocket P to verticallylocate the kneepad in the pocket, the embodiment of FIG. 14 possessesthe ability to vertically set the location of the kneepad within thepocket. This is because the tether's effective length can be set toallow the kneepad to be suspended at any of various heights along thelength of the trouser leg. The side margins of piece 12 that arefastened to the trouser leg to provide for piece 12 to cooperate withthe front of the trouser leg in creating the kneepad pocket are placedagainst the inside of the leg in locations that properly locate thekneepad widthwise of the trouser leg so that the kneepad will fit in thepocket and can be freely vertically suspended by the tether. The bottomof piece 12 does not necessarily have to be stitched to the trouser leg,allowing the pocket to be open at the bottom. In addition to allowingthe kneepad to be suspended at various depths in a pocket, variousembodiments of the suspension also allow the kneepad to be disconnectedfrom the tether and removed from the pocket.

The tether 70 in FIG. 14 is an example of a hook-type Velcro™ strip 70having Velcro™ hooks on the front face 70F. A small piece 74 has Velcro™loop-type material on both its front face 74F and its rear face 74R. Thefront face 74F attachably/detachably attaches to tether face 70F along afree end portion of the tether's length that has passed through a slot76 in kneepad 72 to extend upward from kneepad 72 in front of the morerearward suspending portion of the strap 70. The more that the free endportion is pulled up, the higher that the kneepad is suspended. When thekneepad has been suspended at a desired height with the front face 74Fof piece 74 attached to the strap, the rear face 74R is forced againstface 70F of the suspending portion of the strap to complete theattachment. The kneepad is supported by the bottom of the U- or V-shapedloop formed in the strap. In this way, the location at which the piece74 releaseably attaches to the suspending portion of strap 70 determineshow far down the tether, and hence how deep in the pocket, the kneepadwill be when it hangs inside the pocket.

While piece 74 could have loop-type Velcro™ only on face 74R and bestitched or bonded to the free end of strap 70, the use of double-sidedVelcro™ for piece 74 provides the advantage of shortening the length ofstrap 70 to allow a kneepad to be suspended even higher. Piece 74 can bedetached from the strip, an appropriate amount of the free end lengthcut off and discarded, and the piece 74 re-attached.

By detaching either face of piece 74 from strap 70, the strap can bepulled out of slot 76 to allow the kneepad to be removed from thepocket.

It is to be noticed that the article in FIG. 14 also includes a flap 78that covers the zipper, but can be lifted to allow the zipper to bezipped and unzipped. The flap can help in keeping dirt and debris awayfrom the zipper.

FIGS. 16 and 17 show a separable connector, a gaiter clip 80 forexample, for allowing a kneepad to be disconnected from and reconnectedto a tether. One part 80A of the connector has fingers 82 that flexinward as their ends are pushed into an open end of an opposite part80B. When parts 80A and 80B are fully attached to each other, bumps 80Con the sides of the fingers lodge in slots 80D to keep the two partsconnected. To release the connection, the fingers are squeezed togetherby squeezing on the bumps so that they clear slots 80D, allowing the twoparts 80A, 80B to be pulled apart. The top of part 80A comprises ahorizontal slot 84, and the bottom of part 80B comprises a horizontalslot 86. These slots provide for respective straps to pass through eachpart 80A, 80B, as will be explained later.

A tether that uses a gaiter clip can have a D-ring or double D-ring forsetting the effective length of the tether, and hence setting the heightof a kneepad along the inside of a trouser leg. FIG. 18 shows a D-ring90 by itself, and FIG. 19 shows a double D-ring 92. D-ring 90 has twoparallel slots 94, 96. Double D-ring 92 has three parallel slots 98,100, 102; it also has a series of small raised protuberances 104. Theslots in each type of the ring provide for a respective strap to passthrough, as will be explained.

FIG. 20 shows the use of D-ring 90 to set the height of a kneepad 72inside a trouser leg. A strap 110 has a length extending from one end112 to an opposite end 114. Beginning at end 112, the strap runsdownwardly to pass through slot 94 from front to rear and then upwardlyto loop over and around end 112. From there the strap extends downwardlybehind the D-ring to pass through slot 84 of gaiter part 80A from rearto front. It then extends upwardly to pass through slot 94 from rear tofront below the portion of the strap that already extends through thatslot. From there, it extends downwardly to pass through slot 96 fromfront to rear, finally ending at end 114. The gaiter part 80B isdirectly attached to the kneepad to stay with the kneepad when thegaiter parts 80A, 80B are disconnected from each other. Alternately part80B could be attached to the kneepad by a looped strap that passesthrough slot 86 and whose ends are attached to the kneepad, as shown inFIG. 17.

A sew line is indicated by the numeral 116. The parts through which thesew line passes are sewn along a generally horizontal line across thewidth of the trouser leg when the article is properly associated withthe cutout in the front of the trouser leg in the manner explainedearlier. The side margins of piece 12, and optionally the bottom margin,are attached to the trouser leg. When zipper 18 is unzipped, the tetherand kneepad can be accessed through it. If the bottom margin of piece 12is left unattached to the trouser leg, then access to the pocketinterior is also available through its open bottom.

The effective length of the tether that suspends the kneepad isadjustable. The various embodiments presented here show various meansfor accomplishing adjustment. In FIG. 20, the extent to which end 114 ispulled downwardly through slot 96 sets the effective length. It is to beappreciated that the showing of FIG. 20 is not to scale and intended tobe schematic of how the strap is threaded through the various slots. Thematerial of the strap and its thickness in relation to the sizes of theD-ring slots provide both fits and friction for allowing adjustment andfor maintaining an adjustment once made. The strap can be any suitablematerial, a woven fabric being just one of many examples.

FIG. 21, like FIG. 20, is also schematic. As strap 110 comes upward fromconnector 80 toward double D-ring 92, it passes first through slot 100from the rear and then downwardly and through slot 102 from front torear. The protuberances 104 aid in holding the adjusted strap inadjusted position.

Because of the presence of gaiter clip 80, the embodiments of FIGS. 20and 21 allow the kneepad to be disconnected from the strap withoutunthreading the strap from either the D-ring or the double D-ring. Allthat is necessary is to disconnect part 80B from part 80A. However byunthreading the strap from the D-ring and double D-ring and sliding itout of the slot 84 in part 80A, the kneepad can also be separated fromthe strap with the gaiter clip staying with the kneepad.

While FIG. 14 shows the kneepad having a centrally located slot 76through which a single suspension strap passes to suspend the kneepad,FIG. 22 shows a different kneepad 72 with a different suspension. Shortstraps 120, 122 are attached at their lower ends to the kneepadsymmetrically to either side of a vertical centerline through thekneepad. A respective ring 124, 126 with a respective horizontal slot128, 130. An arrangement like that of FIG. 14 but using two straps likestrap 70, each running through a respective slot 128, 130, can be usedto suspend the kneepad of FIG. 22. A respective piece 74 is used witheach strap, as in FIG. 14.

FIG. 23 shows that different adjustment means can be used on either sideof a kneepad. The one on the left uses the double D-ring 92 and a straprunning through one of two slots 76 in the kneepad 72. The one on theright uses the D-ring 90 and a strap running through the other of thetwo slots in the kneepad 72. The straps thread through the slots in therespective rings in the same manner as in FIGS. 20 and 21. FIG. 23 showsthe straps' widths extending for some distance from ends 114 to beslightly reduced in comparison to the remainder of the straps forclarity of illustration.

FIGS. 24-27 shows kneepads with one, two, three, and four slots 76respectively. The use of more than one strap may provide betterside-to-side balance in the suspension so that the kneepad tends to hangstraighter.

While a presently preferred embodiment of the invention has beenillustrated and described, it should be appreciated that principles ofthe invention apply to all embodiments falling within the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A trouser leg comprising: a kneepad disposed onan inside of the trouser leg behind a knee of the trouser leg, a tetherattached to the trouser leg above the knee of the trouser leg andextending downward within the inside of the trouser leg from where it isattached to the trouser leg to suspend the kneepad, and one or moreelements for adjusting how far down the trouser leg the tether suspendsthe kneepad and for enabling the kneepad to be disconnected from thetether for removal from the trouser leg, an article which creates akneepad pocket on the inside of the trouser leg in front of a person'sknee, the article comprising: a first part comprising a closeableopening having a long dimension transverse to the length of the trouserleg and a first fabric piece providing a perimeter margin surroundingthe closeable opening, the first part being fit to a cut-out in thetrouser leg with the first fabric piece being attached to the trouserleg; a second part comprising a second fabric piece that is disposedagainst the inside of the trouser leg and attached to the trouser legand that cooperates with the trouser leg to form a majority of thekneepad pocket; and a third fabric piece having a marginal portion thatis transverse to the length of the trouser leg attached to a portion ofthe second fabric piece at a location below a top margin of the secondpiece and an opposite marginal portion attached to a marginal portion ofthe first fabric piece that is above the closeable opening; the tetherbeing attached to the trouser leg above the closeable opening.
 2. Atrouser leg as set forth in claim 1 including adhesive adhering theouter margin of a face of the first fabric piece to the trouser leg, andan adhesive adhering the outer margin of a face of the second fabricpiece to the trouser leg.
 3. A trouser leg as set forth in claim 2 inwhich the second fabric piece has a rectangular shape that is longeralong the length of the trouser leg than along the width of the trouserleg, and the third fabric piece has a rectangular shape that is longeralong the width of the trouser leg than along the length of the trouserleg.
 4. A trouser leg as set forth in claim 1 further comprising afourth fabric piece which comprises an area of fabric that contains athrough-opening having a long dimension that is transverse to the lengthof the trouser leg, a margin of the area of fabric surrounding thethrough-opening is attached to a margin of the first part surroundingthe closeable opening, and adhesive adhering a face of the area offabric, that is in surrounding relation to the attachment of the marginof the area of fabric surrounding the through-opening, to the margin ofthe first part surrounding the closeable opening.
 5. A trouser leg asset forth in claim 4 including adhesive adhering the outer margin of aface of the first fabric piece to the trouser leg, and adhesive adheringthe outer margin of a face of the second fabric piece to the trouserleg.
 6. A trouser leg as set forth in claim 5 in which the second fabricpiece has a rectangular shape that is longer along the length of thetrouser leg than along the width of the trouser leg, and the area offabric of the third piece has a rectangular shape that is longer alongthe width of the trouser leg than along the length of the trouser leg.7. A trouser leg as set forth in claim 6 in which the width of the areaof fabric of the third fabric piece extends beyond widthwise ends of thefirst part.
 8. A trouser leg as set forth in claim 1 in which thecloseable opening comprises a slide fastener.
 9. A trouser legcomprising: a kneepad disposed on an inside of the trouser leg behind aknee of the trouser leg, a tether attached to the trouser leg above theknee of the trouser leg and extending downward within the inside of thetrouser leg from where it is attached to the trouser leg to suspend thekneepad, and one or more elements for adjusting how far down the trouserleg the tether suspends the kneepad and for enabling the kneepad to bedisconnected from the tether for removal from the trouser leg, thetether comprises a strap that has hook-type material on one face andthat loops through a slot associated with the kneepad to cause a portionof the one face along a free end portion of the strap to confront aportion of the one face of a suspending portion of the strap, and a oneof the elements comprises a piece of loop-type materialattachably/detachably attaching the confronting portions to each other.10. A trouser leg as set forth in claim 9 in which the piece ofloop-type material attachably/detachably attaching the confrontingportions to each other has loop-type material on opposite faces forattachably/detachably attaching to hook-type material on bothconfronting portions.
 11. A trouser leg comprising: a kneepad disposedon an inside of the trouser leg behind a knee of the trouser leg, atether attached to the trouser leg above the knee of the trouser leg andextending downward within the inside of the trouser leg from where it isattached to the trouser leg to suspend the kneepad, and one or moreelements for adjusting how far down the trouser leg the tether suspendsthe kneepad and for enabling the kneepad to be disconnected from thetether for removal from the trouser leg; and the one or more elementsfor adjusting how far down the trouser leg the tether suspends thekneepad and for enabling the kneepad to be disconnected from the tetherfor removal from the trouser leg are arranged to provide thedisconnection function at a lower height than the adjustment function.12. An article for enabling a kneepad pocket to be created on the insideof a trouser leg in front of a person's knee and for enabling a kneepadto be suspended at a desired location within the kneepad pocket, thearticle comprising: a first part comprising a closeable opening having along dimension transverse to the length of the trouser leg and a firstfabric piece providing a perimeter margin which surrounds the closeableopening and which, when disposed against a margin of the inside of thetrouser leg surrounding a cut-out in the trouser leg, locates thecloseable opening in the cut-out; a second part comprising a secondfabric piece that is large enough to cooperate with the trouser leg toform a majority of the pocket when its perimeter margin is disposedagainst the inside of the trouser leg and attached to the trouser leg; athird fabric piece having a marginal portion that is transverse to thelength of the trouser leg attached to a portion of the second fabricpiece at a location below a top margin of the second piece and anopposite marginal portion attached to a marginal portion of the firstfabric piece that is above the closeable opening; and a tether attachedto the article above the closeable opening and extending downward infront of the second fabric piece for suspending a kneepad, the tethercomprising one or more elements for adjusting how far down the secondfabric piece will suspend a kneepad and for enabling a kneepad to bedisconnected from the tether.
 13. An article as set forth in claim 12further including a kneepad suspended by the tether.
 14. An article asset forth in claim 12 in which the second fabric piece has a rectangularshape that is longer along the length of a trouser leg than along thewidth of a trouser leg, and the third fabric piece has a rectangularshape that is longer along the width of a trouser leg than along thelength of a trouser leg.
 15. An article as set forth in claim 12 furthercomprising a fourth fabric piece which comprises an area of fabric thatcontains a through-opening having a long dimension that is transverse tothe length of a trouser leg, a margin of the area of fabric surroundingthe through-opening is attached to a margin of the first partsurrounding the closeable opening, and iron-on adhesive is disposed on aface of the area of fabric that is toward the first part in surroundingrelation to the attachment of the margin of the area of fabricsurrounding the through-opening to the margin of the first partsurrounding the closeable opening.